D'Antoni clearly isn't at full strength just yet: He hobbled slowly on the sideline on the rare occasions he left his chair during play in the first half. But he moved around with more vigor after halftime, protesting foul calls with a good measure of his usual theatrical vehemence.

When asked whether he wanted to jump up more aggressively to protest occasional officiating calls, D'Antoni laughed. "I'm not that stupid," he said. "I'm good. Jumping is in the past. It's gone."

Eight months after leaving the New York Knicks late in his fourth disappointing season, D'Antoni is grateful to be back at work in such a prized position. He would have rested his knee for probably another month if the Lakers hadn't hired him solely on the basis of phone interviews to replace the fired Mike Brown, skipping over Phil Jackson in favor of the offensive mastermind of the Phoenix Suns' wildly entertaining teams of recent years.